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Aug 22, 2014

There is only one parsley plant in the garden this year because my family is not a big fan of it. But I do use it in a handful of recipes so I wanted to replenish my supply.

It's an easy herb to grow from seeds or plant; in the garden, on the deck or in a sunny window.

Herbs are best collected in the early morning. I'll slip on my garden wellies, grab my basket & kitchen shears and head out to the garden.

I have a small wire fence around the parsley to keep it from laying over when it grows taller. To gather it, I hold a bunch with one hand and snip across the stems near the ground with the other. This time I collected three bunches (most of the plant) and laid them carefully in my basket.

If you're not going to process your herbs right away, place them (their stems) in a jar of water on the counter.

I preserve my parsley by dehydration, then crush it slightly to store in canning jars.

I use 2 fan-less Ronco dehydrators.

We purchased one 20 years ago &

another at a yard sale for $3. this past spring.

Here's how I prep it for drying:

Many times I'll leave some stem on my herbs when drying, making it easier to pick up the herbs from the drying trays.

I place my leaves/stems in a salad spinner basket to wash and spin them dry.

Then they are placed on the dehydrator trays. Parsley will only need two or three hours to dry, so check on it often and rotate trays if necessary.

You'll know the parsley is dry when it crumbles in your hand. It's now ready to store.

For parsley, I pack the leaves/stems in canning jars, pushing them in as I fill a jar. Depending on how many jars I have and the frequency of use, I will vacuum seal some of the jars for longer storage.

Other notes...

...If you process your herbs in the morning, you'll give yourself plenty of time to finish the full process, especially if you're doing multiple batches, long before bedtime. You do not want to leave your leafy green herbs in your dehydrator overnight!

...When removing your dried herbs from the trays and packing them into your jars, place a clean sheet of wax paper (foil or parchment paper) under your work area to catch all the dried particles that break off in your hands, then pour them into your jar too!